China to help India train more language teachers

BEIJING -- The Confucius Institute Headquarters and India's Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) have agreed to promote Chinese language training in India.

According to an agreement signed between the headquarters and CBSE on Friday, both sides have agreed to increase exchanges of language teachers and students, with the headquarters agreeing to help Indian schools develop Chinese curriculae and textbooks.

Xu Lin, director-general of the headquarters, said the move will strengthen economic and education-related ties between the two countries.

In April, the CBSE made Chinese a foreign language subject for middle school students in 500 schools. It plans to gradually promote the study of Chinese in 11,500 middle schools.

Prior to the signing of the agreement, an Indian delegation paid a visit to the Confucius Institute Headquarters in October 2011. The headquarters promised to help train 300 Indian language teachers and offer 100 scholarships annually for Chinese language learners from India.

During the October trip, the headquarters also promised to establish an interschool communication mechanism regarding language teaching between Chinese and Indian schools.